


The Royal and the Restless

by Emachinescat



Series: Sesquipedalian [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-11
Updated: 2011-01-11
Packaged: 2018-01-13 18:58:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1237435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emachinescat/pseuds/Emachinescat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>soporific<br/>(sah-puh-RIH-fihk)<br/>Inducing sleep; drowsy</p><p>Arthur can't get to sleep, Merlin helps him out in an unexpected way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Royal and the Restless

**Author's Note:**

> Don't own, entertainment purposes only.
> 
> Enjoy. :)

"Merlin." His voice was slightly agitated, but mostly unsure, as if he hadn't exactly decided what he was going to say yet, only that he had to say  _something_.

"Yes, sire?" came the reply, almost smothered completely by a yawn. It had been a long day, and Merlin just wanted to get back to his room, fall into bed, and go to sleep. He had already gotten the prince ready for bed, and his highness was sitting warmly under the covers, propped up on his plump pillows, and gazing at his manservant with a rather forlorn expression.

"Have you… taken the remains of my dinner back to the kitchens?"

Merlin smirked. "Remains? If I remember right, you scarfed down every last crumb in the first five minutes, Arthur. It's a wonder…"

Arthur raised an eyebrow, looking pleased to have something to talk about. "Are you trying to imply something, _Mer_ lin?" he asked in mock seriousness. "Are you saying I'm… fat?"

Merlin grinned cheekily. "I didn't say anything. You came up with that on your own – OUCH!" he complained, rubbing his right shoulder, where the cup (previously located on Arthur's bedside table) had struck him. "What?" he grumbled.

Arthur laughed. "What were you saying about how much I eat, Merlin?"

Merlin rolled his eyes. "I just spoke the truth. I gave you your food, turned around to fix the sheets  _you_  rumpled –"

"I was tired after training," Arthur almost pouted. "I had to take a nap."

"Yes, on the bed I worked _so_ hard to make this morning."

Arthur grinned. "Come off it, Merlin. You and hard work? Those two things just don't go together."

Merlin's retort was slipping out of his mouth almost as soon as Arthur finished his sentence. "Like Arthur and leftovers don't go together?"

Arthur growled and hefted one of his pillows and Merlin turned to glance at the dining table, grinning. "And yeah, to answer your question, I took your crumb-less plate back to the kitchens when you were at that meeting with your father." He glanced longingly at the door. "Can I go now?"

Arthur bit his lip and his eyes roved around the room, lighting up and resting on the foot of his bed. "My feet are cold," he announced. "Stoke up the fire."

Merlin quirked one dark eyebrow. "It's the middle of summer," he reminded his master. "And besides, you shouldn't need a fire to get warm, you've got—" Arthur glared fiercely at him and Merlin hastily continued, "—covers and stuff to keep… you… warm… What?"

"You were going to say something about insulation, Merlin. I know you were, I could see a gleam in your shifty eyes. This is twice you've called me fat!"

Merlin's eyes widened comically. "I never said you were fat! You said it both times! Have I called you a prat? Yes. Most definitely. But fat? That's your own doing." He grinned smugly.

"So? I can put you in the stocks," Arthur countered. "Do you apologize for calling me… fat?"

Merlin mumbled something that probably wasn't very polite and rolled his eyes. He grinned. "Sure. If it'll ease your mind."

Arthur continued to stare at his servant, as if trying to detect if he was being serious or not. He snorted. Merlin, serious? Almost as ludicrous as Merlin working hard. "Stoke up the fire," he finally decided, although the room was already hot enough as it was.

Merlin shrugged and did as his master said. He wiped a bead of sweat off his brow. "Will there be anything else?" he asked Arthur, already inching in a supposedly inconspicuous way toward the door.

"It's too  _hot_ ," Arthur mumbled. "You stoked it too much. Put it out."

Merlin gaped. "Put it-? Put it out?" he spluttered indignantly, fetching some water from the bucket kept near the fire and throwing it on. The flames met the water and turned to steam, hissing in protest. Merlin glared. "One of these days you'll make up your mind…"

Arthur countered, "One of these days you'll learn how to talk to a prince."

Merlin inclined his head jokingly. "Sure. When I find one that's not a prat."

Arthur frowned but his eyes were twinkling. "You  _really_  are an idiot, aren't you, Merlin?"

Merlin continued grinning for a few seconds but then his face grew serious. "Arthur, why are you doing this?"

Arthur looked nervous for a millisecond but quickly regained his regal composure. "What are you blathering on about this time,  _Mer_ lin?"

Merlin smiled at his master knowingly. "Making up excuses to keep me here? Every time I start to leave, you come up with something else. What's wrong?"

Arthur looked as if he were going to protest but then his shoulders sagged and he sighed. "I just haven't been able to sleep lately, that's all, Merlin. I dunno what I was thinking, I guess that if I have to suffer and stay awake, you do too…"

Merlin would have been indignant if that were the case, but Arthur's eyes told a different story. He didn't want to be left alone when he couldn't sleep, he wanted company…

Merlin sighed good-naturedly and plopped himself down in one of Arthur's dining chairs. Arthur narrowed his eyes at his servant. "What are you doing?"

"Staying here and talking to you, of course," Merlin grinned, fighting back his own tiredness. "Unless you want me to leave, and then I'll…" He began to get up but Arthur stopped him.

"Nah. You can stay here, talk to me. Even  _your_  company is better than none when I'm facing a sleepless night."

Merlin snorted. "Thanks… I think." Pause. "Can I ask  _why_  you've not been able to sleep?"

Arthur huffed and fiddled with the hem of his sheets. "I don't know, really," he admitted. "It's just every day it all seems even more real. The fighting, the battles, the fact that I'm going to be king someday…" He sighed. "I know it's stupid, but I worry about the kingdom. About the people. My father is so together and everyone fears – um, I mean, respects him." He frowned, fixing his gaze on a spot on the ceiling. He cringed when the spot started to move. "There's a spider on the ceiling, Merlin."

Merlin blinked at the sudden change of subject. "What do you want me to do about it?" He peered up at the rather large, moving black spot. He whistled. "How big  _is_ that spider? It's bloody massive."

Arthur snorted. "You're my  _servant_ , Merlin, get rid of it."

Merlin stared. "How am I supposed to get up there?" he asked irritably.

"Never mind." Arthur stopped watching the spider and instead gazed at the bedcovers.

"Arthur," Merlin began, and when Arthur didn't throw something at him, he took it as a good sign and went back to the previous subject. "I've seen the way you care for your people and what a great warrior you are." He stopped briefly and swallowed. "I know you're going to be a  _great_  king, the greatest king Camelot will ever know." He hesitated, not sure if he should continue, and finally deciding that there was no harm in it, added, "And I'll be by your side every step of the way."  _Helping you in more ways than you'll ever know…_

Arthur looked at his servant in the eyes for the first time since his confession, his expression unreadable. "I don't think I'll ever understand you, Merlin."

Merlin smiled widely. "Nope, you probably never will."

He expected Arthur to respond with a stinging comeback, but instead, the prince looked thoughtful. "So then… tell me about yourself," he ordered.

Merlin choked on air. "What?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Maybe you  _are_  deaf as well as dumb," he murmured irritably. "You've been my servant for close to a year now, but, like you said, I don't know much about you. So tell. Your life can't be any more boring than just sitting here."

Merlin bit his lip, knowing he'd have to be careful what he said. "Well," he began hesitantly, "I'm from Ealdor –"

"That's in Cenred's kingdom," Arthur interjected in surprise. He couldn't believe he'd known Merlin for nearly a year and hadn't even inquired as to where he came from.

Merlin nodded and began to ramble on about the simple life in Ealdor – sleeping on the floor, working in the fields, the excitement around harvest, the way that everyone knew everyone else…

His voice fell into a rhythm and the more Arthur listened, the more his eyes seemed to… droop…

Merlin broke off, having just regaled Arthur with the epic tale of his friend Will's broken wrist after trying to fly by jumping off of Merlin's roof, at a loud snore. He rolled his eyes when he saw that the prince had fallen to sleep, mouth gaping open and loud growling sounds coming from his throat. He shook his head, grinning, as he got up quietly and began to inch toward the door.

Apparently Merlin's life  _was_  more boring than just sitting there, he thought ruefully. Then he grinned. Too bad he couldn't tell Arthur about the  _really_  interesting stuff…

He peeked around the door at his master and friend one last time before leaving and heading to bed. Someday, when the time was right, Arthur would know everything.

Someday…


End file.
